Product Description

The Celestine Prophecy continues to cause a worldwide sensation. Its nine insights into the spiritual awakening of the human race and its purpose on the planet have taken the world by storm. Now--for the first time since its hardcover publication--The Celestine Prophecy is available in trade paperback.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2801 in Books
• Published on: 1997-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 246 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780446671002
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
Find out for yourself why virtually everyone you know has this book, described as an "adventure in pursuit of a spiritual mystery", on their coffee table. In the tradition of Carlos Castaneda's The Teachings of Don Juan.

From Publishers Weekly
Redfield's debut is a fast-paced adventure in New Age territory that plays like a cross between Raiders of the Lost Ark and Moses's trek up Mt. Sinai. Originally self-published, the book sold phenomenally, sparked by word of mouth, and may be this year's The Bridges of Madison County --with which it shares some regrettable stylistic similarities. The saga begins when the unnamed middle-aged male narrator whimsically quits his nondescript life to track down an ancient Peruvian manuscript (pretentiously called the Manuscript) containing nine Insights that supposedly prophesy the modern emergence of New Age spirituality. South of the border, he encounters resistance from the Peruvian government and church authorities, who believe the document will undermine traditional family values. While dodging evil soldiers, paranoid priests and pseudoscientific researchers, our hero sequentially discovers all nine Insights during a series of chance encounters. Redfield has a real talent for page-turning action, and his lightweight quest employs auras, energy transfers and other psychic phenomena. But several of the Insights are incredibly vacuous and politically correct, and long stretches of dialogue are banal and cliched. The book ends with the protagonist poised to discover the 10th Insight in a promised sequel. 250,000 first printing; BOMC selection; author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Is this book fiction or nonfiction? Those of us who staff reference desks often hear this question asked about Redfield's spiritual/adventure tale. The adventure is undoubtedly fiction; however, the prophesies (spiritual insights) in the tale are harder to classify. Jesse Corli's reading of this best-seller adds to the mystery. He reads in hushed, anticipatory tones, almost whispering the secrets of the prophesies. Dialogue makes up much of the narrative, and Corli handles it well. Voices of both genders and several cultures are clearly distinguishable. New Age music carefully placed throughout adds suspense to the adventure and authenticity to the prophesies. D.W.K. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Some good concepts
To be fair the book had some good concepts. I personally got more out of Converstations With God and Encounter With A Prophet. But this book was certainly not bad.

Mixed Reaction
I found this book amongst a pile for a yard sale and decided to read it, unaware of its fame and hype. It advertises an adventure in Peru that changed the author's life. Wow- a manuscript written by an ancient culture that provides guidance to our current development. Interesting, no? Innocently enough, I did not know that this was fiction. I read it with the intent of believing the journey was real. Of course, as a historian, I immediately realized that there were flaws in the description of Peru's history and landscape. However, thinking that the journey was real, I figured the author was simply mistaken about some details. I also believed that his incredibly juvenile writing style could be attributed to the fact that he was not a writer, but a man eager to retell the world of this awakening he experienced. I continued to read. However, by the middle of the book, I was awfully skeptical and wondered how everything magically occurred on cue. Was he simply leaving out the intermediate details of his journey in order to shorten the story? Or am I living in an alternate world that's more mundane and less predictable? So I came to this site, read the reviews, and it all made sense. THIS IS FICTION!! Ha ha ha! Silly me, so gullible.

Reading the end of the book was all the more amusing after seeing these reviews and realizing that I was not imagining the author's delusions. HOWEVER, I must say that the book does have some positives. First, the "insights," although old as the wind and sand, are genuine. Any truly spiritual person, not bound by the conventions and restrictions of traditional religion, has probably realized these already. That does not, however, subtract from the appeal of seeing them solidified on paper. Agreed, this "novel" is a literary atrocity, its presentation is overwhelmingly archaic, and its message is profusely pounded into sickening flatness. Regardless, there is truth in the regurgitated notions/ideas/beliefs. "Insight" is something we all need to understand, even if this book is not what promotes the awareness.

I feel that The Celestine Prophecy is a wonderful book for those who are least concerned with fine literature and more concerned with beginning a quest into understanding the greater meaning of our existence. Of course, the book pales horribly when compared to the great ones. But the point is not comparison. The point is to get in-tune.

To those of you who are well-read and consider yourselves avid intellectuals, you might be better off skipping this one in favor of some of the greats. For those of you who feel something stirring deep within that makes you question our current human condition, The Celestine Prophecy may very well open up a new and positive way of seeing yourself and others. The awakening may very well help you on YOUR path. Do you NEED this "novel" to help facilitate this change? You decide. Personally, I found the basic skeleton of the book, the insights, worth embracing.

A Spiritual Journey
Many of you have heard about this book, but may be wondering... what exactly is the Celestine Prophecy? Some type of church or new age mumbo - jumbo? This book tells a story of an American, who is adventuring in the rain forests of Peru, and discovers a set of nine manuscripts. These manuscripts, referred to as "insights", offer ways of discovering a new sense of life. The story is told in 9 chapters, as our American adventurer discovers more information and interprets the meaning of these hidden "truths" (insights).

The first two insights reveal how mankind is currently undergoing a new spiritual awakening and touches on how coincidences in each of our lives may be more than mere coincidences after all.

The next three insights reveal that many of us may see the world we live in, as a material universe, when in fact our universe is one filled with dynamic energy. The book goes on to explain how this energy is the cause of most verbal/physical confrontations between humans as well as how to understand the power struggles that occur in most relationships ( son-father / daughter-mother / husband-wife / boyfriend/ girlfriend, etc. ). There is a great section on how each of us can learn to avoid the people in our lives who are continually manipulating or "draining" our own personal energy and how each of us can find a good source of constant positive energy!

The last four insights help you to begin discovering what your our own personal, spiritual "mission" in life may be and how each of us can contribute to the world around us. There is a great section about becoming personally aware of our own energy manipulations towards other people, and how overcoming these manipulations as well as allowing "coincidences" in our lives to take place will help guide us in fulfilling our own personal "missions" in life.

Why has this book been so life changing, and praised by millions of people worldwide? Because, in a way, it is getting each of us in touch with something we knew already, but didn't realize we knew. You begin to recognize your own half - conscious ability to follow hunches, taking advantage of coincidental opportunities that arise. Most importantly, without preaching anything religious at all, this book fills a spiritual void most people have had, by helping each of us determine what our own spiritual mission in life is. The Celestine Prophecy is not really about making a change in your personal philosophy, as it is about simply shifting our approach to life and how we sense the lives of those around us. Truly, as the back cover claims, "a book that comes along once in a lifetime, to change lives forever". Overall, an extremely important book, with something for everyone. A truly priceless addition to your personal library...( well, not really priceless... Amazon.com has it for only about 10 bucks, and it ships in 24 hours! )